


precious and fragile things

by harpers_mirror (SapphireBryony)



Series: Blow Us All Away [4]
Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Kid Fic, Pregnancy, Unexpected Pregnancy, all the caring fluff you could ever want, could be read as minffel/mindelkaffel with shipper goggles on, family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 21:28:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7700323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireBryony/pseuds/harpers_mirror
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected pregnancy in three parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is both News and Reactions

Doug stuck his head into the kitchen.

“Hey Minkowski, sorry I’m late for - “ Seeing her sitting at the table staring at a piece of paper, he paused. “Minkowski? Everything okay?” 

She jumped, scrunching the paper in her hand, shielding it from his line of sight. 

“Eiffel! Jesus Christ, don’t sneak up on me like that!” 

Doug blinked. “Uh, sorry? I figured you heard me when I came in. Also, it’s dinner time, so I also figured you knew I was coming.” 

Startled, Renée looked down at her watch and then swore and jumped up, knocking her chair over in the process. Bending to right it, she said, “God, I’m sorry, I got distracted and _damn_ it all, dinner’s going to be late and I’m realizing I haven’t heard a peep out of the kids recently so they’re probably doing something destructive and - “ 

Now thoroughly alarmed, Doug caught her hand, stilling her frantic, aimless movement. “Whoa, easy there Minkowski. What’s wrong? Where’s Dom?” 

She fixed him with an icy stare. “One, _nothing’s wrong._ Two, Dominik’s out of town for the next two days, I _told_ you that last week. Three, I’m just - I can’t believe I got distracted and didn’t realize how late it was. I’ll get stuff going here, just give me a second.” She tried to pull her hand away but Doug held firm. 

“Ohhhh no you don’t. Nice try, but if you’re freaking out this much, I’m definitely not going to let this go. Something _is_ wrong, and if you try to get dinner together in this state you’ll burn the house down. You haven’t forgotten the Great Spaghetti Debacle of last month, have you? Sit down, take a deep breath, and then spill, Panic Girl.” 

He released her hand. She sat back down and started fidgeting with the crumpled paper. “Eiffel, I don’t want to get into this right now - “ 

“Way too late for that, boss. You’re kinda scaring me, which I’m pretty sure is the opposite of - “ 

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, voice cracking a little on the second word. 

Doug stared at her. “...what?” he asked in an equally quiet tone. 

“You heard me, Doug.” 

He continued to stare, eyes wide. “But, I thought you couldn’t - I mean, you said before that - “ 

“I didn’t think so either, but here we are. I just found out - _Dominik_ doesn’t even know yet. I’d been feeling sick and even though I told the doctor it wasn’t possible, she insisted on running the test and...” 

Eiffel finally seemed to come back to himself and his face split into a beaming grin. “That’s amazing, Minkowski! I’m so happy for you! When’s the new little munchkin going to grace us with their presence?” 

She was quiet for a long moment and the smile slid off of his face. “Hey, what - what’s wrong?” 

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Curling in on herself, Renée began to cry. 

“Oh man - _Minkowski_ \- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Doug trailed off and rested a tentative hand on her shoulder, dragging his chair nearer to hers so he could pull her close. She sagged against him and he heard her murmur something - but since she said it directly into his shoulder, he couldn’t make out the words. 

“Didn’t quite catch that, boss. What’s up?” He’d been trying for a joking tone to lighten the mood but since he was still concerned and more than a little unsettled by her extreme reaction, it fell rather flat. 

Minkowski turned her head to the side, facing away from him while still laying on his shoulder. 

“I can’t do this,” she repeated, her voice clogged with tears. “I can’t, I shouldn’t...” She suddenly leaned back, scrubbing her hands over her face, wiping away the tears. More welled in her eyes and she let her hands drop to her lap, staring at them with a look of abject misery that broke Doug’s heart. He caught her hands in his. 

“Hey. It’s just me. You don’t have to explain things if you don’t want to. God knows you’ve seen me freak out enough times over stuff. Just...” he paused, feeling a little lost. “Come here,” he finished in lieu of anything better, pulling her back into a tight hug. 

The ease with which she crumpled into his arms terrified him a little but he kept his cool, brushing his lips against her hair. Without pressing her for answers, Doug just held her close for a while, running a hopefully-soothing hand up and down her back as she cried. 

After a time, she took a deep breath. Looking up at him through escaped tendrils of both their hair, Renée caught a glimpse of the fear that lurked in her friend’s eyes. 

Lowering her gaze again, she spoke at last. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess. I just don’t want...” 

Doug tensed and she hastened to continue. “I’m just so worried about it. I’m afraid that something will happen to it, something will be wrong with it, because of me.” 

“Hey now, any kid of yours will be perfect, you know that. Look how good Margot and Morgan have turned out so far!” 

“Yes, but I didn’t give _birth_ to them, Eiffel!” She pulled out of his arms and ran a hand through her hair, frustration at his lack of understanding seeping through every word and gesture. “They had biological mothers who didn’t marinate their bodies in fucked-up stellar radiation and god knows what else for over three years! I don’t know if this little thing will even be _okay_ and I never thought this would be something I had to worry about!” 

He looked stunned and slightly sick. “Oh,” he whispered. “Oh, Minkowski, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that. Is there - what did the doctor say?” 

“That they’d just have to keep an eye on things as they progress. It’s not like there’s a lot of research on this kind of thing. Actually,” Renée snorted, “the doctor was kind of excited about documenting this. I get to be the guinea pig for space-faring mommies. Fantastic.” She sat back in her chair, looking very tired, and just stared down at her hands resting on her stomach. “I never thought...oh god, Doug, what am I going to do? What am I going to tell Dom? What am I going to tell the kids?” 

Doug leaned closer, sliding his hands gently around one of hers. “Hey. You’re going to take a deep breath and relax for a minute, okay?” He guided her through one of the breathing relaxation exercises they’d both learned when they got back to earth and were jumping at every little noise and shadow. When she was calmer, he continued. “You’re going to wait until Dom gets home because this is not the kind of thing you tell someone over the phone, and then you’re going to tell him the big news and I guarantee you, he will be 100% over the moon with happiness. And as for Margot and Morgan, maybe wait until you know a little more? And then...well, I guess it’s time for the ‘where do babies come from’ talk, isn’t it?” 

She laughed wetly and he looked pleased. “There you go. It’s gonna be fine. You are the strongest, most awesome person I know and there is _nothing_ you can’t handle. You’ve got Dom beside you every step of the way. And, well, I guess you’ve got me here to cheer you on and, I dunno, help with diaper changes or something. Whatever you need. Now, you go relax for a bit. I’ll check on the kids and order pizza. We’ll get through today and go from there, okay?” He squeezed her hand and got to his feet. 

Renée didn’t let go right away. “Doug?” she asked. 

“Yeah boss?” 

“I...” She smiled up at him, the expression saying everything she didn’t quite know how to put into words. “No pineapple this time, okay? Morgan is developing a taste for it and we have to nip that kind of behavior in the bud. Can’t have the kids growing up like you.” 

Eiffel grinned back at her. “What can I say? I’m an excellent role model and bastion of impeccable taste.” He dropped her hand and loped up the stairs toward the playroom, shouting for the children to hide because the marshmallow monster was coming to get them. 

Minkowski let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Maybe he was right. 

Maybe everything would be okay after all.


	2. the anticipation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dominik is worried about ladders, Eiffel is worried about _everything,_ and Renée considers locking them both in a closet until she gives birth.

As was so often the case, things got crazy once Eiffel got carried away.

Renée was just about to bite into her grilled cheese sandwich when a screaming banshee knocked it out of her hand, shouting, “Don’t eat that! It’s not safe!” The sandwich landed on the tile with a sad little “plop” and sat there as she turned to glare at its attacker.

“Eiffel? What the actual hell do you think you’re doing? What exactly is so unsafe about grilled cheese? Can I eat my soup or is it radioactive?”

Doug was panting. “Minkowski, you’re not supposed to eat cheese! It was on the list!”

She stared at him for a long moment and then sighed. “I _know_ I’m going to regret asking this but...what list?”

He dropped into a chair beside her, looking very worried. “The list of ‘Things Too Dangerous to Eat While Harboring Mini-Humans!’ I knew there were some, y’know, dietary restrictions that went with being pregnant so I looked it up and cheese was _definitely_ on there. And fish. And lunch meat. And coffee, coffee is right out. And there was something about litter boxes, but to be fair, I don’t think you’re supposed to eat anything out of a litter box even when you’re not pregnant, so I’m not sure what that was about...” Doug trailed off as she stared at him. “What?” he asked, sounding slightly indignant, voice getting higher and more strained. “I’m just trying to keep you safe. All of you. Do you even _realize_ how many vitamins you’re supposed to take? How many foods you can’t eat? How many _completely mundane things_ could hurt you guys?!”

Minkowski sighed again, trying to look stern and failing. “Eiffel...okay, a couple of things. One: I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I’m fine. And so was my sandwich before it hit the floor. Because two, did you actually _read_ that list or just kind of skim it? Cheese is fine. They used to prohibit certain kinds of cheese but not really any more. At any rate, that was made with Kraft singles which I’m pretty sure are more plastic than cheese anyway. Coffee is also fine, and god help you if you try smacking _that_ out of my hand.” He shuddered at the idea and she grinned. “And three, we don’t even have a cat, so let’s not worry about why that got included on a prohibited food list, okay?”

Doug ducked his head, looking sheepish. “Sorry boss,” he said, peeking up at her through the fringe of hair that covered his eyes. “I guess I got kind of...carried away. I just worry about you.”

She took pity on him and wrapped him in a hug. “I appreciate it, I really do. But Doug, you have to trust that I can also look out for myself.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think...but yeah, you’re like the most capable person I know. I trust you. Forgive me for ruining your lunch?”

Smiling, she released him. “Make me another sandwich and we’ll call it even.”

He grinned back. “Deal.”

* * *

But the over-the-top protectiveness wasn’t limited to just Doug. Dominik was equally guilty. Renée began to despise the words “Are you sure you should...” followed by some inane and innocuous thing. 

“Are you sure you should drink that coffee?” 

“Are you sure you should lift that?” 

“Are you sure you should drive that far by yourself?” 

“Are you sure that bath isn’t too hot?” 

It got old fast. She tried to be patient, reminding herself that they were just concerned. Doug was always a little paranoid about her safety, after the multitude of perils they’d survived together, and Dominik was no better, with an added dash of guilt about the role he’d played in creating these circumstances. She tried to be patient but that patience faded quickly, and their concern began to grate.

Things came to a head the day they were getting the nursery in order. The three of them had spent the previous day moving Morgan’s stuff into one of the spare bedrooms, setting up a “big kid bed” and moving what felt like an endless amount of toys. The men were concerned that after so much activity, maybe she should sit out the painting and furniture assembling on the day’s agenda.

Renée stubbornly refused. “This is the last time I’m going to get to do this. I’m helping.”

“Now, you don’t know that -” Dominik began to interject. She skewered him with a look. 

“This is _the last time_ I’m going to get to do this; _I’m helping.”_ Her glare challenged him to argue with her. 

He silently handed her a paint roller.

The two of them made good time and got the first coat up in less than forty minutes. But trouble struck again when Renée grabbed the edging brush and the step ladder to touch up the paint where the wall met the ceiling. 

“Are you sure you should be on that ladder?” Dominik asked. 

Slowly, she sat the brush on the paint tray, mindful of the floor. Deliberately, she wiped the smudges of paint from her hands. She took a deep breath, counted to ten - and let him have it.

“Will you please stop treating me like some fragile little thing that has to be wrapped in cotton to keep from breaking? I’m fine! I’m a grown woman, one who has flown goddamn _fighter jets_ and _space stations_ for fuck’s sake. I’ve survived multiple people and evil corporations trying to kill me! I fought a giant mutant plant monster! Compared to that, this is _easy._ Women have been doing this for millennia, without nearly the kind of care and resources I have access to. I can handle this! Just please, stop treating me like I’m _helpless!”_

To her extreme frustration, she felt tears prick at her eyes. “Oh goddamn it,” she muttered, wiping a paint-smeared hand across her eyes. These stupid pregnancy hormones would be the death of her.

Dominik pulled her into a hug. “Hey now. No one thinks you’re useless. We’re just worried about you. I know you can take on the entire goddamn world when you have to. But right now? You don’t have to.”

She stepped away. “I know I don’t have to, but I can’t just sit around and...and...” Renée gestured helplessly at her belly, _“gestate_ for the next four months! I’ll go crazy from boredom! And...” She sighed, plopping down on the metal folding chair by the door. “And I’m worried too. I know the doctors have said everything looks good and there’s no reason to worry, but you don’t think I lay awake at night thinking about how I’m too old and too, too _damaged_ to be doing this? You weren't here the day I found out, but I know you and Doug talk. I know he told you how scared I’ve been right from the start. So if I can keep moving, keep working and keep busy, it helps take my mind off all of that. So just...” She covered the hand Dominik rested on her shoulder with her own. “Just let me do this, okay?”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Okay. Anything you think you can comfortably do, you do it. And I’ll stop questioning every little thing, alright?”

Renée smiled up at him, tears forgotten. “Thanks for understanding. I know you mean well, you and Doug both. Now,” she said, standing and grabbing her brush again, “let’s get these walls painted.”

* * *

They kept their promises, more or less, for the remainder of the pregnancy. 

Dominik still had a slight tendency to hover and worry, fussing about her not sleeping enough, or getting too much strenuous exercise. But he generally relented as soon as she gave him the pointed “You’re doing it again” look and managed to keep himself in check - most of the time.

Doug continued to sound like a slightly paranoid version of “What to Expect When You Don’t Know What to Expect But Quickly Skimmed Some Articles Online.” She awoke from a nap one afternoon to find him holding headphones against her belly. 

“Classical music has been proven to stimulate brain development in babies!” he shouted as she locked him in the hall closet. “Don’t you want their brains fully developed?”

Renée wedged a chair under the door knob and went to lay back down.

“Your Uncle Doug is something else, isn’t he guys?” she murmured at her protruding stomach. “Don’t worry. I’ll let him out of there before you arrive. Probably.” She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her lips.


	3. the arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the babies arrive, Doug shares some secrets, and Renée has a surprise.

Renée awoke from a light doze to find Eiffel sitting at the foot of her hospital bed, a clear plastic bassinet on either side of him. He had a hand in each - Baby Boy Minkowski-Koudelka was clutching his pinky finger while he tickled Baby Girl Minkowski-Koudelka’s tiny foot. And he was talking to them.

She listened quietly, not wanting him to know she was awake just yet and equally invested in hearing what her best friend was saying to her hours-old children.

"...Your dad is a big softy, so I think you'll like him just fine. And your mom..." He laughed softly. "She's kind of strict - or, she'll want you to think she is, but I know better and so do your big sibs. Don't worry munchkins - once you get a bit bigger, Margot and Morgan and I can teach you how to work her."

The twin on Doug's left started fussing and Doug let go of the other to tend to him. "Shh, shh, hey now little man. It's okay. It's all gonna be okay. You have no idea how lucky your and your sister here are. You guys..." Renée heard Doug sigh as he scooped the little boy into his arms. "You guys have the greatest parents any kid could ask for. Your dad is the best man I've ever met. And your mom, well...your mom is a real-life superhero." The twin still in the crib let out a soft cry and Doug grinned, shifting the baby in his arms so he could take her tiny hand.

"It's true! She was a superhero here on earth and she was so good at it that they sent her to be a superhero in outer space. And when she came back home to your daddy, she kept right on doing it. She's my superhero, anyway. Always has been. And she'll be that for you guys too. You two are...well, it's gonna be great."

Swallowing the enormous lump in her throat, Minkowski quickly wiped her eyes - damn hormones - and shifted slightly in the bed to let Doug know she was awake. Hopefully, she fretted, without startling him into dropping her newborn son.

Eiffel turned almost guiltily toward the bed when he heard her stir, putting the baby down as he did. He came around to the side of the bed and perched lightly on the edge of the mattress. 

"Hey boss, how you feeling?" he asked, taking her hand.

She intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed. "Well to tell you the truth, I kind of feel like I did in space after a shock wave would hit the station and knock us all around. Everything hurts." 

At this, he quickly loosed his hold on her hand and she rolled her eyes. "Oh calm down, Eiffel. I'm not going to break. I'm just tired. But also relieved not to be carrying around ten pounds of human beings inside me any more. Speaking of which..." She nodded to the bassinets. "Met the twins, did you?" 

"Oh yeah. We bonded already. They're great listeners." He grinned at her, then went serious. "Minkowski, they're perfect. Like ‘tiny ads for the entire concept of babies’ level of perfect."

She grinned up at him, unable to contain her pride. "They came out pretty good, didn't they? Hey, did Dom tell you their names yet?" 

He shook his head. "Negative, boss. He said you would introduce us. To tell you the truth, I've hardly gotten to talk to him - he's been on the phone bragging about the munchkins to pretty everyone he's ever met. When I left him, I think he was trying to get their birth announcement to run on the front page of tomorrow's _Post_..."

Minkowski laughed. "Sounds about right. Can you wheel the cribs over here? And hand me little Miss Minkowski first?"

Doug complied, and Renée took the baby that he handed her. "This is Celia Juliette. Yes, it's a little frilly but she's named for my grandmother and mother, so..."

"Hey, it's a gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl." Eiffel carefully ran a finger down the baby's cheek. "Hi there Miss Celia. It's nice to finally meet you." Turning his attention back to Celia's mother, he continued, "So you decided to get away from the M-theme with their names, huh?"

Minkowski made a face. "Two kids with matching initials worked, but four? Yikes. Next thing you know, we'd have been taking family photos in identical outfits and putting those obnoxious little stick figure sticker families on the back windows of the cars. No thanks. And we decided if we were breaking the theme with one of the babies, we had to do it with both." She nodded to the boy twin, and Doug carefully scooped him up.

"And that little guy is Theo. Theodore Douglas." Renée watched him very carefully as the impact of what she'd said sank in.

Doug stared at the baby in his arms for a moment before raising his wide-eyed gaze to her. "Min-Minkowski. You..." He swallowed, eyes gone bright. "You mean that?"

She nodded, face serious. "Absolutely." There was more she wanted to say but the words got caught in her throat and tangled together. She settled at last for shifting Celia so that she could take his hand again. "There is no one I'd rather name my son after."

Doug brushed an ineffectual hand over his eyes, setting the baby gently back into the crib as he did so. Wordlessly, Renée handed Celia back too, then pulled Eiffel into a hug, though her sore muscles protested the movement.

"Renée, you don't - you have no idea what this means to me," he murmured, half against her neck.

She smiled gently and kissed the top of his head. "I think I have an idea, Doug. Just look out for them like you've always looked out for me and you'll have more than earned the honor."

"Always," he said, pulling back with a sniff. He reverently picked up his namesake again, dropping a kiss onto the little boy's forehead. "Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this ridiculous fluffy mess. If this section gave you déjà vu, I did post it on Tumblr a while back - this fic has been kicking around in one form or another since February (and I've had the namesake scene in mind since I created this AU), so it's a relief to finally get it done and posted! If you like it, please consider leaving a comment - they make my day every time.
> 
> Edited 9/8/16 to change Celia's middle name now that we know Renée's mom's name.


End file.
